Haymarket Poster: In the late 19th century, posters such as this were commonly found advertising rallies and meetings. This poster is advertising a meeting of workingmen against the government intervention at Haymarket Square.
In the late 19th century there were many labor strikes in which union workers campaigned for better working conditions and shorter work days. During these times business owners needed reinforcements to suppress strikes and union workers. Many of these reinforcement workers came from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850 as a private security guard and detective agency. Not only did businessmen hire Pinkertons to replace unionist workers, they were also used as guards to repress union strikes. These imported strikebreakers are also referred to as scabs. During a strike, an employer hires scabs to take the jobs of strikers and many scabs remain of the job after the strike ends.
On May 3, 1886 union workers at McCormick Harvester protested for an eight hour workday. Police and Pinkerton men attacked the strikers, resulting in the death of two workers. In response to this police violence, workers met at Chicago's Haymarket Square on May 4, 1886. While the protest was initially peaceful, chaos broke out when a bomb was thrown at a police man trying to quell the rally. Eight anarchists, or men who support the abolition of government, were convicted of conspiracy to instigate the man who threw the bomb.
Causes of the Strike
In the late 19th century, McCormick Harvesting Company produced and exported thousands of mechanical reapers. When Cyrus McCormick died in 1884, his son took over the company. While his father viewed his workers as irreplaceable and supported a unionized work force, Cyrus Junior was determined to destroy the union.
Members of the McCormick factory joined the Iron Molders’ Union, which was a labor union to represent craftsmen who made molds and iron castings. In 1886, these neglected workers organized a labor strike for an eight hour work day. Their slogan was, “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will.”
Cyrus Junior hired scabs to temporarily replace his workers on strike and called for police and Pinkerton guards to put an end to the strike. The police and Pinkerton men shot several workers, killing two men. In response to the cruel police violence, workers gathered to strike at Haymarket Square in Chicago, beginning the Haymarket Riot of 1886. Here is a clip from a PBS Documentary on the Haymarket Affair:
The Strike
On May 4, 1886 workers met at Chicago's Haymarket Square to protest police violence. At first, the meeting was orderly and was even attended by the mayor. When the mayor had left, police Captain John Bonfield and his men went to the meeting to disperse the remaining members of the crowd. As the police approached, a bomb was thrown by an unknown person. Eleven people were killed, including seven police officers, and hundreds were injured. Eight anarchists were suspected of conspiracy to instigate the man who threw the bomb.
Haymarket Square Bombing: This cartoon depicts the bombing of the crowd of policemen at Haymarket Square in Chicago on May 4, 1886
Immediate Effects
The eight anarchists and socialists were put on trial and were found guilty. Although several of these suspects had not attended the rally, they were convicted and sentenced to death. On May 11, 1886 the New York Times wrote ,“the speeches which preceded the throwing of the bomb into the ranks of police marching up Des-Plaines Street Tuesday evening were even less incendiary than those uttered by the same speakers in their public meetings for months pasts.” Many people believed that anarchists and their speeches were violent and inflammatory. The prosecution claimed the suspects had in the past printed material, like the previously mentioned speeches, advising the killing of policemen and of Pinkerton men. Four of the men were quickly hanged and a fifth committed suicide in his cell.
Illinois Governor John Peter
"A Friend of Mad Dogs" : A political cartoon depicting mayor John Peter Altgeld setting mad dogs loose on innocent people. This picture was meant to criticize Altgeld for pardoning the three remaining Haymarket bomb suspects.
Altgeld controversially pardoned the remaining three men, claiming the convictions were unjust. Altgeld also exonerated the four men who had been hanged. Altgeld ordered this pardon after receiving many appeals claiming the trial was unfair. For example, General Matthew Mark Trumbull states in his appeal that “record shows that none of the condemned were fairly proven guilty, while some of them were fairly proven innocent; not innocent of sedition, and inflammatory speech, but innocent of murder.” Trumbull, like many other men, feels the trial and conviction of the eight anarchists was unjust and believes the men should not be sentenced to death for murder. Trumbull clearly explains that much of the evidence used by the jury had been fabricated. Trumbull also gives examples of trials in which the government intervened when the men found guilty were not given a fair trial.
The Knights of Labor was a large and powerful labor union in America. It represented almost all workers in many types of industries and showed Americans the power of organized labor. After the Haymarket riot, the Knights of Labor were blamed for creating the whole disturbance. Although the union never authorized the riot, many members from the union attended the meeting. The riot quickly damaged the reputation of the union, forcing it to stop using strikes to settle labor disputes. After the Haymarket Square Riot, the public began to fear further anarchists bombings from similar unions and the image of the growing labor movement became damaged.
Long Term Effects
In 1889, a delegate American Federation of Labor met with the International Labor Congress in Paris. The delegate proposed May 1st as an international Labor Day. On Labor Day, workers marched for an eight-hour day, the right of workers to organize, and to memorialize the eight "Martyrs of Chicago.”
Sticking to the Slogan: On the first of May (international Labor Day) workers marched, staying true to their original slogan, “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will.”
References
Primary Sources: Trumbull, Matthew Mark. “Was it a Fair Trial? An Appeal to the Governor of Illinois. By Gen. M. M. Trumbull, In Behalf of the Condemned Anarchists”. 1887.
“The Chicago Anarchists” The New York Times. May 11, 1886. Secondary Sources:
Green, James. Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement, and the Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America. Pantheon Books. 2006.
"Knights of Labor." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010.
Schneirov, Richard. Strangled Voices: The Haymarket Anarchists in Historical Context. 2006.
Mintz, S. “Haymarket Square” Digital History.2007.
“John Peter Altgeld." American History. ABC-CLIO. 2010.
“The Haymarket Affair Narrative” The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. 2009.
"Haymarket Square riot." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010.
The Haymarket Affair
Introduction
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850 as a private security guard and detective agency. Not only did businessmen hire Pinkertons to replace unionist workers, they were also used as guards to repress union strikes. These imported strikebreakers are also referred to as scabs. During a strike, an employer hires scabs to take the jobs of strikers and many scabs remain of the job after the strike ends.
On May 3, 1886 union workers at McCormick Harvester protested for an eight hour workday. Police and Pinkerton men attacked the strikers, resulting in the death of two workers. In response to this police violence, workers met at Chicago's Haymarket Square on May 4, 1886. While the protest was initially peaceful, chaos broke out when a bomb was thrown at a police man trying to quell the rally. Eight anarchists, or men who support the abolition of government, were convicted of conspiracy to instigate the man who threw the bomb.
Causes of the Strike
In the late 19th century, McCormick Harvesting Company produced and exported thousands of mechanical reapers. When Cyrus McCormick died in 1884, his son took over the company. While his father viewed his workers as irreplaceable and supported a unionized work force, Cyrus Junior was determined to destroy the union.Members of the McCormick factory joined the Iron Molders’ Union, which was a labor union to represent craftsmen who made molds and iron castings. In 1886, these neglected workers organized a labor strike for an eight hour work day. Their slogan was, “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will.”
Cyrus Junior hired scabs to temporarily replace his workers on strike and called for police and Pinkerton guards to put an end to the strike. The police and Pinkerton men shot several workers, killing two men. In response to the cruel police violence, workers gathered to strike at Haymarket Square in Chicago, beginning the Haymarket Riot of 1886.
Here is a clip from a PBS Documentary on the Haymarket Affair:
The Strike
On May 4, 1886 workers met at Chicago's Haymarket Square to protest police violence. At first, the meeting was orderly and was even attended by the mayor. When the mayor had left, police Captain John Bonfield and his men went to the meeting to disperse the remaining members of the crowd. As the police approached, a bomb was thrown by an unknown person.Eleven people were killed, including seven police officers, and hundreds were injured. Eight anarchists were suspected of conspiracy to instigate the man who threw the bomb.
Immediate Effects
The eight anarchists and socialists were put on trial and were found guilty. Although several of these suspects had not attended the rally, they were convicted and sentenced to death. On May 11, 1886 the New York Times wrote ,“the speeches which preceded the throwing of the bomb into the ranks of police marching up Des-Plaines Street Tuesday evening were even less incendiary than those uttered by the same speakers in their public meetings for months pasts.” Many people believed that anarchists and their speeches were violent and inflammatory. The prosecution claimed the suspects had in the past printed material, like the previously mentioned speeches, advising the killing of policemen and of Pinkerton men. Four of the men were quickly hanged and a fifth committed suicide in his cell.Illinois Governor John Peter
The Knights of Labor was a large and powerful labor union in America. It represented almost all workers in many types of industries and showed Americans the power of organized labor. After the Haymarket riot, the Knights of Labor were blamed for creating the whole disturbance. Although the union never authorized the riot, many members from the union attended the meeting. The riot quickly damaged the reputation of the union, forcing it to stop using strikes to settle labor disputes. After the Haymarket Square Riot, the public began to fear further anarchists bombings from similar unions and the image of the growing labor movement became damaged.
Long Term Effects
In 1889, a delegate American Federation of Labor met with the International Labor Congress in Paris. The delegate proposed May 1st as an international Labor Day. On Labor Day, workers marched for an eight-hour day, the right of workers to organize, and to memorialize the eight "Martyrs of Chicago.”References
Primary Sources:Trumbull, Matthew Mark. “Was it a Fair Trial? An Appeal to the Governor of Illinois. By Gen. M. M. Trumbull, In Behalf of the Condemned Anarchists”. 1887.
“The Chicago Anarchists” The New York Times. May 11, 1886.
Secondary Sources:
Green, James. Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement, and the Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America. Pantheon Books. 2006.
"Knights of Labor." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010.
Schneirov, Richard. Strangled Voices: The Haymarket Anarchists in Historical Context. 2006.Mintz, S. “Haymarket Square” Digital History. 2007.
“John Peter Altgeld." American History. ABC-CLIO. 2010.
“The Haymarket Affair Narrative” The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. 2009.
"Haymarket Square riot." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010.
Pictography:
Haymarker Poster
http://www.cawcouncil4000.com/images/haymarket-poster_lg.gif
PBS Video "Haymarket Martyrs--Origin of International Workers Day Pt 1" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OQxncb2ihQ
Haymarket Square Bombing http://www.boisestate.edu/socwork/dhuff/us/EXTRA%20IMAGES/haymarket%20(Small).jpg
"A Friend of Mad Dogs"
www.law.umkc.edu/.../haymarket/pardon.html
Sticking to the Slogan
http://www.peacebuttons.info/IMAGES/0721.1878_Melbourne-1856.jpg